Journal of African Studies and Sustainable Development

Philosophy is generally a field that inquires into the general conditions of existence and provides possible solutions to the puzzles of the cosmos. Apart from offering existential guides to human beings on personal relationship, philosophy also alters attitude to natural and artificial phenomena that make up human environment, and above all seeks to direct man’s actions towards the good. This is perhaps why there seems to be a philosophy of everything that exists. Taking a critical ontological look at Nigeria, it is apparent that crime and criminality has kept soaring exponentially over the past few years. Major crimes ravaging Nigeria today include armed robbery, rape, banditry, kidnapping, murder, terrorism, cyber-crimes, bribery and corruption among others. It has therefore become expedient for a philosophical interrogation of the rising tide of crime and criminality in the country with a view to charting a better way forward towards curbing criminality. This is the thrust of this paper. The study adopted the qualitative research design by relying on secondary sources of data collection. The expository and evaluative methods were used for data analysis. The study found out that even though many steps have been taken towards curbing criminality in Nigeria, little has been achieved, thereby prompting a re-assessment of the strategies that ought to be employed. It is this new strategy that this ontological survey sets out to project.

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